Life on the Slopes
by MuseFromCallisto
Summary: Linda PoV. Teenage SBK group living life in Snow Town and dealing with real-life situations, such as college and relationships. R&R please! Rated T for possible language, yaoi and yuri.
1. Sleep Over at the Maltinie Mansion!

**(A/N: I do not own the Snowboard Kids characters, boards, or track names. Atlus USA does. Thank you very much and enjoy the story!)**

**(A/N 2: All the characters are 18 years old, except Linda, who is 19.)  
**

Chapter One

"Slash! Let's go! I thought you wanted to get a new snowboard today!"

"Hang on, Linda, I'm coming," Slash answered from the second-story bedroom window down below to us.

"Is he going to buy it, or are you, Linda?" Nancy, my blond-haired friend asked.

"Yeah, are you still trying to buy his love?" Jam said with his Jamaican accent.

"SHUT UP, will you? And I don't try to 'buy his love', I'm just a very nice friend," I said with a flirtatious giggle.

"Well, you've bought him three new snowboards, a ton of gear, food, and paid for him to compete in tournaments around the country," a girl with glasses, Wendy, stated. I'm not a big fan of Wendy, but everybody else seems to like her, so I mostly shut my mouth and don't say anything. She didn't notice the grimace I was giving her as she tightened her brown ponytail on the top of her head.

"Nancy, Jam, Wendy, leave her alone. She has her reasons for doing what she wants," Tommy, the huskiest of the group, said.

"Thank you, Tommy. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get my snowboard out of the limo. You guys can get your own." I walked back to my stretch limo and grabbed my bright red snowboard from the back. It was brand new, but that was no surprise to anybody—Daddy always bought me a new one after each race.

Nancy grabbed her pink and lime green snowboard, Jam grabbed his red, yellow and black snowboard, and Wendy took her light and dark blue snowboard out, then we sat on the ground and attached our feet to the boards. Tommy stood above us, watching. Nancy looked up with a smile.

"Aren't you riding today? Its good exercise, Tommy," she smiled warmly, causing the heart-shaped blushing spots on her cheeks to rise.

"Not as healthy as walking, as my doctor likes to point out," he said with a shrug. "I could really go for a hamburger right about now, though."

I shared a laugh with everybody else, but we stopped as Slash walked out of the front door to meet us. Slash has been my secret crush since we were young children. I've watched as he's dated other girls, and he's seen me date guys, but I've gotten jealous almost every time. I can't tell if he's ever been jealous of my boyfriends.

Slash has jet black hair that's spiked backwards, and he's built very well. He snowboards almost every waking moment, except when he's in school, and even then, when I look at him, I see his eyes gazing to the snow-covered peaks in the distance.

My friends and I have been snowboarding since we were in elementary school. There's not much else to do in this town. I mean, we went to a high school with a graduating class of 60. We've grown up together, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"So, what kind of board are you going to look at, Slash?" I asked as we started to slide down the hill beside his house.

"I was thinking that new Ninja Board I saw a few weeks ago. Has anybody heard anything about that board?" He asked, raising his voice above the sound of the sloshing snow.

"Yeah, it doesn't have very good speed, but it makes you completely invincible to attacks," Wendy answered. She pushed her glasses up her nose, a habit she always did when she sounded intelligent.

"Slash, you're good all around, but I don't know if you can afford to give up your speed. If you did, who would I race?" Jam asked as he slid next to Slash. Jam is a very competitive snowboarder who tries to beat Slash at everything he does. His success percentage is a very low number.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with trick riders. I'm going to look at the Feather Board. Maybe they can paint pretty hearts and bunnies on it!" Nancy said with such enthusiasm, she almost lost concentration of the trail.

"Well, I hope you guys have enough money for all those boards, because I only have enough for me and one other person," I said as I stole a glance to Slash. He winked at me, which made my heart melt. I looked at Wendy, who rolled her eyes. When she turned her attention back to the trail, I scowled in her direction.

"Hey, careful with that heat ray, Linda—you'll melt all the snow!" Jam said with a laugh as he sped in front of the group. Slash let him and the others race ahead, and stayed behind with me. I was sure he could see my cheeks and nose turn red from blushing, but I could play it off as being too cold. Though, I wonder if he would buy that excuse—after all, I was the girl who rode down the mountain in a bikini top and tight pants when I was eleven years old.

"Hey, Lin, do you think I could get a custom paint job on my board? Like, is that okay?" Slash asked nervously as he kept his balance on the steep hill.

"Yeah, it's no problem. I was thinking of getting a new board myself. The Rich Board. Maybe you could help me decide what kind of paint job to get," I said with a coy smile. He grinned in my direction, and then increased his speed to catch up to the group.

Nancy jumped off a hill and gripped the front of her board, causing her to flip in the air. Wendy gripped the right side of the board and held her left arm to her side, and Jam spun horizontally, then vertically. Slash gripped the left side of his board and raised it up, causing his feet to go behind him, and when I jumped, I flipped in the air vertically a few times, and then landed with a flourish.

We sat on the ground outside of The Board Shop in town, to take off our boards, and walked inside. Everybody went to the counter to put in their orders, but I walked to the back of the store, where the models of boards were hanging up. I glanced around, looking at all the new boards. After a few minutes, the bell of the door rang, indicating somebody had walked in. It was Damien, the weird kid that moved into town around the same time Wendy had. Instantly, he hid behind a shelf, watching Nancy with his piercing blue eyes.

I almost hadn't noticed Slash walk up behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and looked at the wall with me. I bit my bottom lip, then turned my head to him and smiled.

"There it is…my Ninja Board. It's so beautiful, but I guess Jam's right—I can't afford to lose my speed." Slash said with slight sadness in his voice.

"Well, you could always use the board for other things, like practicing tricks. You know, on the weekends you don't have tournaments," I suggested. "When is your next one, by the way?"

"Three weeks from now. That gives me time to try to pay attention in school…" Before he could finish, he laughed. "Wait, I don't do that!" I joined in his laugh.

"Linda, do you want to buy a board?" The shop keeper, Mr. Dog, called from behind the counter. I walked over to him, with Slash still holding onto me, and placed my gold credit card on the glass top.

"Yeah, can I have the Rich Board? The newest model. And can I get that painted blue and black?" I smiled sweetly to the owner. "I need to pay for Slash's board, too."

"You know, you could take turns and buy one of our boards for a change," I heard Wendy mutter under her breath. I turned my head to look at her, and before I could say anything, Slash and Jam stood in between us. Slash stared into my eyes with a warning not to cause trouble, and Jam did the same with Wendy. I saw her cheeks turn deep red as she blushed and smiled softly. I then looked back up to Slash and smiled, winking at him.

"When will those be ready?" I asked to lower the tension in the shop.

"About an hour or two. Feel free to come back for them any time," Mr. Dog said as he wrote on the pad of paper each board's specific request.

"We'll do that. Thank you," Nancy spoke as she headed toward the door. Before she opened it, she glanced back to see Damien look at her. She smiled warmly to him and opened the door, allowing everybody to walk out before her.

"Hey look, guys, there's Tommy. Oh, I guess he got his hamburger after all," Nancy pointed to the restaurant across the street. Tommy was sitting at the bar by himself, eating a burger and drinking a brown soda. It looked like Tommy was the only person in there, anyway.

"So much for 'healthier by walking instead of riding'," Jam said with a grin. We all walked over to the restaurant and took seats near Tommy. Slash and I sat on one side of a booth, while Jam and Nancy sat at the other. Wendy joined Tommy at the bar and ordered water to drink and a salad.

"I really need help with that homework from yesterday. Can anybody help?" Jam asked the table.

"Well, Nancy, Wendy and I were going to work on it tonight, but if you want, you and Slash can come over, too. We could make it a party, like in the past," I answered. "I have rooms for all of you, you know."

"You mean in that mansion you live in? We know, Lin. And that sounds good to me. A homework party…" he replied with sarcasm.

"Hey, you should want to come, Jam. We haven't stayed the night at Linda's house in a long time. It'll be fun," Nancy said with a sweet smile. "I know I definitely can't wait!"

"Wait for what?" Tommy called from the bar. He spun around on his chair to look at us, just as Wendy did.

"For staying the night at Linda's mansion tonight. We're going to work on homework…well, at least, that's the intention," Slash said with a grin. Jam and Wendy laughed softly.

"So, what are we getting to eat? I'm in the mood for chili cheese fries," Jam said. Before the waitress could come to the table, she leaned against the bar and began to write on the pad of paper.

"I'll have a cheeseburger, fries on the side, and a diet soda to drink," Slash said.

"I'll just have a water to drink," Nancy said. She looked over to Jam and smiled. "Do you mind if I share your fries?"

He shrugged and looked disappointed, but smiled to Nancy. "That's cool with me."

"Then I'll just have a salad and a diet soda to drink," I called to the waitress. She finished her scribbling and walked to the kitchen to put in the order, and filled five cups with our drinks. When she placed one on the counter and four at our table, she walked back into the kitchen and waited for the food to finish. I could see thorough the small window that she and the cook were flirting.

"So, is it just me, or has anybody else noticed that Nancy has a secret admirer?" Wendy asked from the bar after taking a sip of her water. Nancy and Jam looked up at her, surprised, and I nodded in agreement.

"It's true. It's that weird Damien kid. You know, he's lived here for years, and we don't know much about him," I thought aloud.

"But, why me?" Nancy asked with slight concern. We all knew Damien was trouble.

"Maybe he likes the sweet, innocent type," Slash said with a shrug and a smile.

"I think it might be a psychological thing," Wendy said, pushing her glasses up with her index finger as we all looked at her. "Well, it might just be the opposite of the typical 'girl wants a bad boy' thing. Maybe for some guys, it's an attraction to innocent, shy girls."

"I have no idea why you would think that," Jam said, turning his head away. "But since we're on the topic, why DO you girls go for the bad boy types?"

Nancy and I looked at each other and grinned. We knew Wendy would never go for the bad boy type of guy, but before we could answer, Wendy spoke.

"Bad boys are just that—Bad. Girls don't always want safe and fun. Most girls like the excitement that comes with the dangerous type of person. Besides, some bad boys are the sweetest people, deep down," she glanced at everybody and blushed deeply. "That's…just my theory."

Slash, Jam and Tommy looked to Nancy, then to me. We both nodded in agreement, then began to laugh at the fact that Wendy knew exactly what we were thinking.

After a few minutes, our food arrived at the table, and we began eating and talking about our plans for that night. The party at my mansion. Though, I don't know if we would get any homework done.


	2. Wendy Gets a Maltinie MakeOver!

**(A/N: I do not own the Snowboard Kids characters, boards, or track names. Atlus USA does. Thank you very much and enjoy the story!)**

**(A/N 2: All the characters are 18 years old, except Linda, who is 19.)**

Chapter Two

"James, we've got people coming over tonight!" I called to my butler as I walked inside the house. I took off my riding boots and snowboard, and left them by the front door to be put away by the cleaning staff.

"Yes madam," was his monotone reply.

I walked up the three flights of stairs and entered the last room on the left—my bedroom. It was the largest room of the house, equaling the size of about four average bedrooms put together. I walked over to my canopy bed, and sat on the edge, looking out the two French-style doors to the balcony, where the sun was setting perfectly behind the mountains.

After a few minutes, I stood up and opened the doors, allowing the brisk dusk air to fill my room. I walked onto the balcony and leaned against the railing, releasing my brown hair from their pig tails, and let the strands blow in the gentle breeze.

"How long has it been since I've been with somebody?" I asked myself. "It's been…maybe three years. Three years is far too long to be alone. What good is money and power if I don't have anybody to share it with?"

Just then, a barking sound came from my feet. I looked down and found my puppy, Daisy, at my feet. I picked her up and held her to me, stroking her long white fur. "Well, at least I have you, Daisy girl." She barked happily in reply as I walked inside my room and closed the doors.

I walked over to my closet and opened the doors to find hundreds of tops. Taking a few steps to the right, I opened more doors to the closet to find matching bottoms to go with the tops. I walked down to the final pair of doors to the closet and found shoes, belts, purses, hats and jewelry to accessorize my fashion. After a couple of minutes of debating, I chose a pink and black, low-cut top, which also revealed my stomach, a pair of hip-hugging jeans, and a bracelet and necklace to match. I walked over to my vanity and began to apply make-up in the mirror when I heard the doorbell ring.

Finishing quickly, I closed all the doors to my closet and fixed my hair to hang behind my back. I then sat on my bed and waited for my friends to walk into my room. Sure enough, in walked Nancy, Wendy, Jam, and Slash.

"Hey, where's Tommy?" I asked when I noticed he was missing.

"He doesn't think he'd be much help to the homework situation, since he doesn't go to school anymore," Nancy said with a slight frown. "I told him we'd miss him, and he should have fun with us, but he said no."

"Oh, well, we can still have fun without him!" I said in my best cheerful voice. Wendy looked a little sad, but replaced it with a smile before she thought anybody would notice.

"James has pizza on the way, so we can get started on the homework whenever we want," I said as I walked over to grab my pink and white laptop computer and book bag. Everybody else grabbed their computers and books and we formed a circle on the carpet of my room.

A couple of hours went by before we took a break.

"Well, we got a lot done, which means we can have more time to snowboard tomorrow!" Slash said with a grin. Every time we mentioned riding down a mountain, his face would glow.

"I think we were going to ride tomorrow anyway, whether we got the homework finished or not," Jam said with a grin of his own. The two boys gave each other a high-five as the girls giggled.

"Lets get some pizza…I'm starving." I said as I led the group down the three flights of stairs to the parlor. We sat at the bar and waited for the servants to give us our pizza. Nancy insisted on getting it ourselves, but the servants wouldn't let her, so she sat and remained quiet.

"So, after homework, what do we plan on doing tonight?" Slash asked as he took a seat next to me.

"Well, we could watch movies, or listen to music, or you and Jam could play video games while me, Nancy and Wendy have girl talk." I suggested.

Jam and Slash thought for a moment. "What kind of video games do you have?" Jam asked.

"If you want it, I can get it. I have the latest systems in the theater, and—" I started.

"Wait, did you just say theater?" Slash interrupted.

"As in, MOVIE theater?" Jam finished.

"Yes…Movie theater. It's fairly new, and it's on the second story. It has one of those really huge screens, and we have movies that aren't even on DVD for other people to buy yet," I bragged with a smile. Slash and Jam hugged me at the same time.

"You girls can have fun with your girl talk! Me and Jam are going to get our hockey on!" Slash said with a grin. He reached over me to give Jam a high-five.

Wendy blushed and Nancy giggled as I looked to them. "So, girl talk for us tonight. But first, let's eat!" We all began to eat the pepperoni, mushroom, and sausage pizza.

I closed the door to the movie theater on the second story of the mansion, listening as Slash and Jam hollered with excitement. They were going to watch a movie first, then decide what to do when it was over. Of course, it was an action movie that I had no desire to see, but Daddy wanted it right away.

Nancy, Wendy and I walked up to my bedroom, where I closed the door. I lit the room with the chandelier above my bed and sat on the edge, behind the sheer curtain of the canopy.

"So, Nancy, tell me about you and Jam," I started.

"Jam? I thought Damien was into her," Wendy questioned.

"Yes, he might be, but have you not seen the way Jam gets flustered when we talk about that? It's so cute, the way he reacts!" I gushed. Nancy was blushing deeply and played with a stuffed animal nervously.

"I didn't notice Jam reacts that way, and I don't really know Damien very well. I still can't figure out why Damien wants ME to begin with. He seems more like your type, Linda," she said with a giggle.

"Me? Heavens no. I got over my bad boy phase a long time ago. Besides, I want to be with somebody who knows me, inside and out. Somebody who knows how to take care of me without me telling them what to do, you know?"

"Yeah, no wonder why you're still single. No guy like that exists," Nancy said solemnly. Wendy nodded in agreement.

"He's out there, I'm sure. Call me a hopeless romantic," I said as I put the back of my hand against my forehead dramatically. We shared a laugh and got comfortable on my bed.

"So Wendy, what about you? Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, a couple. They were a few years ago, back in high school, and they weren't very serious, but I'm fine being single. I like to study anyway, so I don't have much time for a boyfriend," she replied, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"I don't know…In my experience, some guys like the 'bookworm' type of girl. You know, the librarians. You could get a boyfriend if you wanted to," I told her. Then I thought to myself, 'Wait, why am I being nice to this girl? She's nothing but mean to me.'

"Linda, what about you and Slash? I've always felt you two have had a thing for each other, even when we were little," Nancy stated aloud. I blushed and bit my bottom lip, but quickly acted cool.

"Slash is okay, I guess. I know all the girls in high school, and even some at college, find him attractive, but all they care about is looks. I'm not shallow like that…" A few moments after I finished, we busted out laughing at the joke I made. "What am I saying? Of course I am! I love appearances!"

"Well as long as you know that looks aren't the only thing that matter, I guess its okay," Nancy said with a smile to me. "I mean, I used to think Slash was cute and could be my boyfriend, but now I just see him as a best friend."

"What was he like as a child?" Wendy asked.

"He was competitive," I began.

"And loud," Nancy added.

"And all he cared about is winning."

We sat in silence for a moment before Wendy spoke. "I said, how was he as a CHILD?" We laughed together.

"I guess he really hasn't changed that much, has he?" I asked.

"Well, if you count the fact that he's now interested in girls, then he's changed only a little bit," Nancy said with a giggle.

"What…about Tommy? Has he had any girlfriends recently?" Wendy asked in a quiet, shy voice.

"Tommy? No, I don't think so. I think he cares about hamburgers too much to think about girls," I said while crossing my arms.

"His last girlfriend moved away, but that was back in seventh grade," Nancy remembered.

"I tried to hook him up with a girl once, but she thought he was repulsive," I said with distaste. "How sad."

"Tommy is a really sweet guy, but I don't think he's noticed the way I act around him. I try to be flirty, but I don't think I'm doing it right," Wendy said embarrassingly.

"Well, what kinds of things are you doing?" I asked.

"I like to sit with him, and stand next to him, and talk to him about snowboarding. I also giggle cutely and I blush a lot, but I don't think he notices," she answered with a frown.

"Try dressing up in a hamburger costume. Maybe then he'd notice you!" I joked. Nancy and Wendy laughed a bit, but took it more as a rude comment than a joke.

"I think Jam is the same way, though. All he cares about is winning and being obnoxious," Nancy said as she gripped the stuffed rabbit tightly in her arms.

"Slash is almost the same way, though. He likes girls, and he's nice and friendly with everybody, but something tells me that all he wants to do is snowboard, 24/7." I looked down at the pillow I was holding onto.

We sat for a few minutes in silence before I got an idea. "Say Wendy, have you ever had a make-over?"

"A…A what? No, I'm not interested in make-up like that. I've never tried to get a make-over," she answered with her blushing red cheeks.

"Well, that could be something fun to do, and who knows, maybe Tommy will notice you!" Nancy agreed with enthusiasm. "Come on, let's try, Wendy!"

"Well, okay…If you're sure. But I've never put on make-up before, so I don't know how I'd look," she said in her quiet voice before putting down the stuff animal she was holding on to and stood up with me and Nancy. We walked her over to the vanity in my bedroom and released her hair from the long ponytail.

"I can see you wearing purple eye shadow and maybe a light blush. But eye shadow is hard to see through glasses; are you able to take them off and see okay?" I asked as I reached around for her glasses.

"I can see just fine, but I'd prefer you left them on," Wendy pushed her glasses back up.

"Let's just see if you'll like yourself without them, and if not, we can put them right back on." I took the glasses and gently folded the sides in, and placed them on the vanity. Nancy and I began to play with her brown hair a bit, thinking of ideas.

"Should we straighten her hair? Or straighten the top and curl the bottom?" I asked Nancy.

"I think she'd look cute with her hair straight at the top and curly at the bottom. Then she could pull it off to the side and hang it off her shoulder. It's the latest fashion these days!" She agreed and switched on the flat iron. When Nancy placed it on the vanity next to the glasses, she saw Wendy's eyes grow wide.

"It's okay, Wendy. We aren't going to hurt you, and if you don't like your hair, it will wash out in the shower. Please trust us," Nancy almost pleaded. It took Wendy a few moments to calm down and agree.

Almost two hours later, we were finished with Wendy. She had striking blue eyes, which were revealed from behind the glasses, and the color was brought out by the light purple eye shadow. We also worked on her eye brows and gave her two of them, and straightened her hair with big curls at the bottom. She had picked a purple shirt from my closet and a pair of black jeans, with black knee-high boots and a matching black diamond bracelet and necklace.

Nancy and I sighed and smiled with relief at the beautiful new Wendy. She smiled to us and twirled around. "How…do I look?"

"You look gorgeous! You don't even look like you anymore!" I said with happiness. "Nancy, we should show her off to the boys. What do you think?"

"Before we do that, I think we should show her off to Tommy," Nancy whispered to me. I grinned and pulled out my cell phone from my jeans pocket, pressed a button, and held it up to my ear.

"Tommy? Hi, it's Lin. Hey, can you come over here? We have something we want to show you. You can? Great! Come over as soon as possible!" And with that, I shut my phone and slipped it back into my pocket. Nancy and I walked over to Wendy and took one arm each, and led her to the theater to show her to Slash and Jam.

When we opened the doors, we saw a World War II video game playing on the screen, which involved a lot of gunfire and explosions. Nancy, Wendy and I stood in front of the boys for a few moments before Slash paused the game and looked at us.

"What are you doing? I was winning the…" Before he finished his statement, his eyes stopped at Wendy. Jam's controller fell to the floor, as did his jaw.

"Who…is that?" Jam asked with a dry voice.

"It's me, you guys! It's Wendy Lane!" Her voice sounded more enthusiastic, and she giggled bubbly.

"That's not Wendy. Really, Linda, who else did you invite over?" Slash asked as he turned his gaze back to me.

"No, really, Slash, that's her!" Nancy said with a giggle of her own. That caused all of us girls to giggle. Before the boys could argue with us again, we heard the doorbell ring.

"Ooh, that's Tommy! Let's go!" Nancy said as she grabbed Wendy's hand and led her from the theater.

"Tommy's here? But, why?!" Wendy sounded nervous and terrified as she left the theater. I smiled to Slash and Jam and began to leave, when Slash's voice called back to me.

"Hey, Linda. That was a really sweet thing you did for Wendy. I'm sure she really likes it."

I stopped and looked to him. Jam was picking up the controller he dropped and inspecting it to make sure there was no damage. With a sly smile, I shrugged one shoulder and said, "I'm not really the sweet kind of person. I was just tired of looking at her bookworm face." And with that, I left the theater and met Tommy, Nancy, and Wendy in the lobby.

When I stood on the balcony of the second-story staircase, I could see everybody standing below. Tommy was speechless, Wendy was blushing deeply, and Nancy was beaming with excitement. I descended the stairs and stood beside her.

"Well Tommy? What do you think of the new Wendy Lane?" I asked with curiosity.

"That's really you, Wendy? You look so beautiful," Tommy said in his deep voice. Wendy swayed nervously from side-to-side and blushed.

"Y…Yes, it's me. I was hoping you would like it," she admitted with a giggle.

"I do! I really do like it!" he answered over-eagerly. "Say, Wendy, would you want to go get something to eat with me?" Nancy and I looked at each other and giggled quietly.

"I'd love to, Tommy, but I'm going to be…" Wendy started.

"No, no! Go! I'll have James send your stuff home," I finished before she could argue.

"Yeah, go have fun on your date," Nancy said as she gave Wendy a hug. Wendy walked over to me and gave me a quick hug before she stood beside Tommy.

"Thanks, Linda and Nancy. This was a really sweet thing for you to do. I'll see you tomorrow for practice!"

And so Tommy and Wendy left for their date. Nancy and I watched as the servant closed the door to the mansion behind them and smiled.

"What's with everybody saying I'm doing something sweet tonight? I'm not a sweet kind of person," I said as we began to walk back to the theater.

"It was a very sweet thing you did, though, Lin," Nancy agreed as she wrapped her arm in mine. "But, if it makes you feel any better, I won't get used to the idea of you being sweet."

We laughed as we opened the door to the theater and sat behind the boys, watching them play video games.


	3. The Surprise on the Track

**(A/N: I do not own the Snowboard Kids characters, boards, or track names. Atlus USA does. Thank you very much and enjoy the story!)**

**(A/N 2: All the characters are 18 years old, except Linda, who is 19.)**

Chapter Three

"I don't get why we all have to sleep in different rooms," Jam complained. We had just walked into the lobby of the Maltinie mansion after helping James pack the limo with Wendy's things.

"Because, Kuehnemund, I need my privacy. If you want to share a room with somebody, go right ahead," I replied, crossing my arms. "If you want your own room, it's on the third story, second room on the left. Slash can sleep in the second room on the right, and Nancy can sleep in the first room on the right. If that's okay with everybody."

"Yeah, that sounds fine with me," Slash said in a soft voice. I detected a hint of disappointment, but then I thought I was just imagining things.

"Okay, then I'll see everybody in the morning. Wake up whenever, but I'm waking up at dawn to go jogging, so you can join me if you want," I said as I began to walk up the stairs, to the top floor.

"I think Slash and I are going to play a few more video games in the theater. That room is just so awesome; I think I may sleep in there!" Jam said as he once again gave Slash a high-five. They then took off to the theater and closed the door behind them, leaving Nancy with me.

"Well, if you need to wash up, there's a bathroom in your bedroom. All of the bedrooms have them," I explained as we reached the third floor. "Good night, Nancy."

"Night, Lin. And thanks again for the fun! We should start doing this more often," she said with a sweet giggle and smile before she opened the door and walked into her room. I closed the door behind her and smiled, then continued down the hall toward my room.

Once inside, I went immediately into my bathroom. It has three sinks, a Jacuzzi bathtub, and a shower that could fit four people (if need be), and a closet the size of most ordinary bedrooms. It was decorated in a soft pink and white motif, and had pink stars painted on the ceiling. I turned on the warm water in the shower, watching as eight shower heads sputtered to life. I walked over to the large mirror and grabbed a washcloth, then began to wash my face. When that was over, I undressed myself and stepped into the shower.

After the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and walked toward the closet. I thought for a moment, and decided to wear a small light pink cami top and white terry-cloth short shorts. (If you're asking "Why so much pink?" the answer is that Nancy and I have been friends since elementary school. She was actually my very first friend, and she's been a big influence on my life.)

I turned off the lights in the bathroom and walked back into my bedroom. I then crawled under the sheer canopy and wrapped myself in my clean white sheets that smelled like brown sugar. The smell of brown sugar always helps me relax and fall asleep easier, and tonight was no different.

It didn't feel like many hours went by when I woke up to a ruffling sound in my bed. I opened my eyes reluctantly and looked at my clock.

"4:15 am? What….Who would wake me up…?" I muttered angrily as I sat up. I then felt a weight begin to push me down, and I gave easily. My eyes shot open in a panic as I turned my head to look out the windows of the French doors.

"Lin, it's just me," a familiar voice whispered softly in my ear. That's when my eyes fixed on his form. It was almost impossible to see his features in the moonlight, but I knew by the voice who it was.

"Slash? What…What's going on?" I whispered with a tone of slight panic and mild annoyance. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's okay," he reassured me as his fingers stroked my arm, causing me to shiver. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, surprised—startled, even. What are you doing in my room so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking," he admitted as he moved to sit next to me in bed.

My heart started to pound, and I was glad the lights were off, or he would've seen my deep red cheeks. This time, I couldn't play it off on being too cold.

"Thinking about what?" I asked, secretly wishing he would say he was thinking about me.

"About the tournament coming up. I haven't ridden in a while—at least, not competitively. This tournament has racing and tricks. I'm good at the speed part, don't get me wrong, but tricks are hard," he said with defeat.

"Well, I'm sure Nancy wouldn't mind helping you. I think even Wendy could help." I said Wendy's name with distaste.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, you're not so good with tricks yourself," he said, bumping my shoulder playfully before climbing off my bed. "Thanks for the help. I guess I just needed somebody to talk to. I'll see you later, Linda. Go back to sleep," Slash instructed as he left my room, closing the door behind him.

I sat up in bed, staring at the door in disbelief. Did that really just happen? And why didn't anything else happen? A lot of faults began to race through my mind.

'Maybe I smelled sweaty…' I thought to myself as I lifted my arm to smell my flesh. 'No, it isn't that. Maybe my breath smelled bad, but that couldn't be it. I fall asleep with a mint in my mouth each night.' Then I gasped aloud. 'What if…He really DID like the make-over we gave Wendy, and now he wants to be with her instead of me! Oh, now I really DO dislike her!'

I threw my body back down, my head hitting the pillows, and closed my eyes. It took me a while to fall back asleep, and I was grumpy when my alarm went off only a few hours later.

The time was 6:45 am as I began dressing for my morning jog. I put on a pair of red shorts and a black sports bra, and my running shoes. When I left my room and began to walk down the hall, the door to Nancy's room opened, and for whatever reason, I felt the need to hide, so I ran back to my room and stood in the doorway, out of sight.

I peeked my head from around the doorframe and looked down the hall. I then saw my urge to hide, and gasped aloud.

'Jam! What was Jam doing in Nancy's room?!' I continued to watch as he stood in the hall, talking in what he thought was a low voice, even though I could hear him clear as a bell.

"Don't tell anybody, okay? I don't want people thinking I'm a bad guy for what happened," he said with concern.

"I won't tell! But Jam, why would they think you're so bad?" Nancy asked in a softer voice.

"Because…Look, I'll explain later, when I can get my words right. I'll talk to you later, Nancy," he said before walking quickly back to his room. Before he could see me, I hid in my room again, and then peeked around the corner to see Nancy, still standing in the door way, wearing similar workout clothes, only in bright pink and bright yellow colors. She looked sad, which was never a look Nancy had on her face.

I left my room, and began walking down the hall, as if I hadn't seen or heard anything. When I saw Nancy, I smiled brightly. "Good morning! How did you sleep?"

As soon as she saw me, her frown quickly changed into a forced smile. "Oh, good morning Linda. I slept pretty well, how about you?" We began to walk down the stairs together.

"I slept just fine, but have I got some news for you! You'll die when you hear it!" We went to the lobby, and went toward the back of the mansion.

"Linda, aren't we going jogging?" Nancy asked, a little confused.

"We are, in the back yard. There's a pool, and a full-length track around a full-size football field, and a tennis court, and a baseball diamond. Daddy is really into sports, go figure," I said with a shrug as I opened the back doors.

We walked to the bright red track and began at the starting line. From there, we jogged a light pace, staying side-by-side as we went around the first turn.

"So, did you want to hear my news? Of course you do! Guess who came into my room last night," I began. As I told her, I saw Nancy's face grow a little sad, but the smile quickly returned.

"I don't know, who? Slash?" she asked, looking back at me for an answer.

"Yeah! He just surprised me early this morning. He said he was concerned about the tournament coming up in a few weeks, and just wanted somebody to talk to, but I was hoping there'd be more to it, you know?"

"Yes, I suppose I do know. Why is Slash concerned about the tournament? He usually does very well," Nancy thought aloud.

"He said the tournament has tricks included, and he still isn't good with them. I told him that maybe you and Wendy could help."

We continued jogging in silence, until I asked, "Hey, do you think Wendy looks a little TOO good? I mean, did we do too good of a job with that make-over?"

"I think she looks gorgeous, but why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'm afraid she'll get all the guys' attention," I admitted.

"Linda, that sounds like something I would be worried about! But really, I don't think you should worry about that. Wendy isn't the kind of girl who uses her appearance to get what she wants. She won't take anybody's boyfriend," Nancy reassured me. I continued jogging and laughed at myself for worrying.

"Yeah, you're totally right. How could I be so silly? Thanks, Nancy."

We ran around the third turn for the second time in our morning jog, and on the way toward the final turn, Nancy spoke.

"I have some news for you, too," she said almost too quietly.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" I asked, though I had a pretty good feeling what she was going to tell me.

"Well, when I say this, remember that we're all adults now. We aren't children. But, Jam came into my room last night, and we had sex." Nancy's heart-shaped blush spots on her cheeks turned deep red, and she slowed her pace.

"W…What?! Really?! Wow, Nancy, that's great! That means he really cares about you, right?" I asked, even doubting myself.

"Well, I don't know. I mean, he left this morning and told me not to say anything to anybody, because he's afraid of the things they would say. He's afraid of people making him out to be a 'bad guy', which I don't understand," she stopped completely, as did I, and looked at me with sweat glistening on her cheek and genuine concern in her eyes.

"Honey, if you ask me, he wouldn't have done what he did last night if he didn't feel right about you. I mean, we've known each other since we were ten, and a lot can change in eight years. Feelings develop, and we know each other like the back of our hands. Jam should be able to read you like a book, maybe even guess what you're going to do or say before you do it," I held onto her hand and smiled warmly to her.

"Yeah…You're right. Maybe I should try to talk to him later, or something," she said as we began to walk toward the finish line, hand-in-hand.

"I think you should give him some room. He obviously feels bad for one reason or another. Maybe he thinks he'll do something to mess it up. When he's ready to talk to you, you'll know it." I bumped her shoulder playfully and winked at her.

"Wow, Linda, you really know what to say. You should go to school for psychology, or something," Nancy said with a giggle.

"Nah, I'm just good when it comes to love and boys. After all, I love love, and I love boys!"

When we walked back into the house, Nancy and I went upstairs to our rooms to take showers. We walked back downstairs together, into the parlor, and saw Slash and Jam eating breakfast burritos and laughing. They had already showered and gotten dressed. When the boys looked up at us entering, Jam blushed and looked away from Nancy.

"Good morning, guys. Hey, you missed a really good jog," I said with a grin and sat beside Jam. "It's fun running when the sun first comes out."

"Um, Linda, what are you going to have for breakfast? I'll have whatever you have," Nancy said shyly, sitting next to Slash and avoiding Jam's gaze.

"I usually get an egg-white only omelet with spinach and fat-free cheese, and a glass of orange juice to drink, if that's alright with you," I answered with a smile to her.

"Wow, that sounds really healthy. I'll try one of those," she said with her quiet voice. I got one of the servant's attention (I couldn't remember her name, since we had so many of them), and ordered our breakfast. The servant returned with two full glasses of orange juice and said she'd return in a few minutes with the omelets.

"So, where are we going to ride today, boys?" I asked the quiet end of the table. Slash swallowed his bite of breakfast burrito and took a quick drink of water before answering.

"We were thinking we could meet up in Snow Town with Tommy and Wendy, and then go to Turtle Island."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like a plan! We can try out our new boards, too, which is always exciting," I answered with a grin.

"So, first breakfast, then to Snow Town. Sounds like a plan to me!" Nancy said with a warm smile.


	4. Love on Turtle Island

**(A/N: I do not own Snowboard Kids. Atlus does. Thank you for reading :) )**

**(A/N 2: In this story, everybody is 18, except Linda, who is 19.)  
**

Chapter Four

"Turtle Island…Wow, I haven't been here in a long time!" I said as I slipped my sunglasses from the top of my head to over my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun against my skin. I was wearing a black and red bikini top and matching shorts, with red boots that started at my knees. In my right hand, I gripped my new Rich Board, painted black and blue.

"The sun feels amazing," Jam said with a cheesy thumbs-up.

We began to walk to the track. When the time came to cross the water before us, a couple of turtles swam closer to the shore, letting us ride on their backs. Slash and I shared a turtle, as did Nancy and Jam. I glanced over and saw Nancy wrap her arms around Jam's waist, and rest her cheek on his back. My glance then turned to him, and I saw a small smile form and his dark cheeks gain a red color. Slash turned to look at the couple as well, then turned his head to glance back at me.

"When did that happen?" he asked with a sly grin in a quiet voice, so Nancy and Jam didn't overhear.

"Last night," I answered with my own devilish smile. Slash knew what I meant, and he showed it by nodding once, then turned his attention back to the island we were swimming toward, the beginning of the track.

The view from the top of the tropical island was always breathtaking. Even though we had ridden on this track for years, I still couldn't get over the sights of the bright palm trees and flowers. Quietly, I tried to slip my hand into Slash's, to lace our fingers together, but he started to strap on his boots to the board, causing my pinky finger to graze his palm. He didn't seem to notice the contact.

Nancy came over to me and smiled sweetly. She was watching Jam quietly, and I could tell she was thinking.

"What did you two talk about on the ride up here?" I asked softly, wrapping my left arm around her right.

"Nothing…Well, I tried talking, but he just ignored me. When I tried talking to him on the shore, he just said he couldn't hear me because of the waves in the water," she confessed with a small frown.

"Maybe he needs to talk to somebody else, first," I suggested. "Like, maybe he needs to talk to Slash or Tommy. Hell, maybe even Damien! Maybe it's just a stupid boy thing." Nancy looked at me and smiled, then giggled softly, causing Jam to look at her.

"What's so funny, yo? Let's ride!" he demanded with his Jamaican accent. Nancy stopped giggling and sat on the ground, strapping her boots to her board. I soon followed suit, and after a few minutes of adjusting equipment, we were ready.

We lined up behind the starting point, each quietly following our silly superstitious traditions to help us win the race.

"Alright, is everybody ready?" Slash asked. We all nodded our answer. "Okay, since Nancy is the most honest of us all—" Jam's gaze went to the ground quickly, then back to the coarse, as if he was guilty—"Then she can start the count."

"3…2…" And with that, Nancy was sliding down the hill. "…1, GO!" She shouted to us, causing us to be distracted for a moment before jumping down and sliding behind her.

"Nancy! That was priceless!" I shouted to her when we caught up, still laughing.

"Priceless, but stupid!" Jam shouted as he fired an umbrella at Nancy's back. She was lifted off the ground, and floated slowly back down, angry.

"JAM! I'm going to get you for that!!" we heard her shout as we raced ahead.

Slash was in the lead, followed by me, then Jam when we approached the first hill. We crouched low, and then each performed a trick as we fell back to the course. After a few minutes, Nancy passed Jam to come up to me.

"How come you're not winning?" she asked teasingly. I grinned and focused my attention to Slash, who was already crouched at the next hill. With quick timing, I fired a snowman missile in his direction, hitting him in the middle of his back. He glided off the hill and dropped safely back to the ground, not able to do a trick for more coins. I laughed and almost doubled over, unable to stop.

I suddenly felt a heavy hand slap my back, causing me to tumble forward, off the hill Slash had just gone over. When I stopped, I saw Jam fly over me, grabbing his board in a trick and laughing. My face was beet red with anger. If only there was a way to send flames to a rider!

Nancy couldn't help but laugh as she did a trick over my head. "Sorry, Lin!" She shouted as she raced ahead. I saw another hand reach down in front of me, causing me to turn my attention from her to the sky. Slash was standing over me, reaching down to help me up.

"You know this isn't how races work," I said as I grabbed his hand and stood.

"Maybe not when we were 10," he said with a grin as he began hopping a bit, to gain speed. I followed, and caught up with him.

As we rode side-by-side, I slid over and bumped my shoulder into his playfully. "I'd prefer your shoulder, instead of that snowman you fired at me."

"Oh, you knew it was me, huh?" I said with a giggle. He nodded, and couldn't keep his eyes off me. For some reason, I began to blush and get nervous. Then I started thinking about earlier that morning, when he pushed me gently back onto my bed. "U…Um, don't we have a race to finish?" I started hopping a bit again, trying to gain speed.

"Think you can be faster than me by hopping like a rabbit, Maltinie?" Slash hopped up once and was instantly racing ahead. I could feel my face grow hot again.

* * *

We finished the race just as the sun was setting behind the palm trees. Jam had come in first and was celebrating loudly, jumping up and down and hugging everybody. He even hugged me! We all laughed and began to take off our boards, sitting on the lush grass.

Placing our boards to the side, we watched the sun set, the sky turning a vivid pink and purple, with a bit of yellow dashed across. Nancy and I sat together, and Jam and Slash were going over their strategies for the next race, and the highlights of today's.

"You should definitely help Jam celebrate more tonight," I said with a playful, devilish grin. Nancy blushed deeply, looking as shy and innocent as the first day I met her. She laid her head on my shoulder, and I turned toward her and kissed the top of her blonde hair.

After the sun was down, and the stars and moon were high in the sky, I looked down at Nancy. Things had been quiet for a long time, and she had fallen asleep. I kept stroking her arm and smiled, laughing softly to myself.

"Hey, Lin," Jam's voice called softly. I turned in his direction. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I looked past him to Slash, who had also fallen asleep.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked, turning my attention back to him.

"I need to talk to you about something that happened last night," he continued in a whisper. I already knew what he was going to say. "See, something happened, and I don't know how to feel or anything."

"Well, what happened?" I asked, hiding the fact that I already knew.

"It was about one in the morning and Slash was going to sleep in his room. I wasn't tired yet, and when I was leaving the theater, I started thinking about Nancy. For whatever reason, I asked one of the butlers or somebody where she was, and they told me, so I went into her room. She was still awake, reading a book or doodling or something, and we started talking. Then…one thing lead to another, and we had sex," he confessed his story to me.

I felt Nancy stir a bit, and moved my body so her head was lying in my lap. Jam's dark brown eyes turned to her, then back to me. The moon's light shimmered off his mocha-colored skin.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" I asked, still trying to figure that out.

"I don't know, man. We've known each other for years now, we grew up together. I've always thought of her as a sister. But a few months ago, I started having different feelings. I don't know what happened, yo, but it was like, one look at her and I felt totally different."

"So, you regret having sex because you've known her for so long?" I thought aloud.

"No, no, I don't regret it at all! But at the same time, I kind of do. Like, what if I wasn't romantic enough? And what if she didn't like it or something?" Jam was kind of cute when he worried.

"Jam, trust me, she liked he. I think she's been kind of hurt, though, because you haven't talked to her about it. Maybe you should when we get back to the mansion," I suggested. He nodded quietly.

"Thanks, Lin," was all he said.

"So, let's get back. I definitely need a shower," I said as I shook Nancy gently to wake her up. Jam stood and walked to Slash and nudged him with his foot. I rolled my eyes.

"What…are we still doing here?" Nancy asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"We were just going back to the mansion. We decided to stay and watch the sun set, but you passed out not too long after," I said with a playful smile as I stood and helped her up.

We all walked back to the Maltinie private jet together. Nancy looked at me and I smiled, winking to her. I saw her face light up with a bright grin. I nudged her playfully with my shoulder and wrapped my arm around her waist. I turned my attention to Jam and winked in his direction, which caused him to smile.

"So, Kuehnemund, you won. How are you going to celebrate?" Slash asked.

"I'm going to…" Jam began. It was obvious he didn't have an idea in mind. "…Maybe play some video games!" We all sighed and shook our heads, then laughed at the "typical Jam" moment.


End file.
